Melbourne to Sydney Drive along Coast

This post shows you our Melbourne to Sydney drive along coast. To get from Melbourne to Sydney we rented a campervan and spent more than a week on this scenic coastal route.

We followed the Pacific coast from Melbourne to Sydney, south to Phillips Island and Wilsons Promontory and north towards Sydney.

That all was to be such a huge experience! This beautiful part of Australia gave us so much that I had to divide our travel story in many posts, to be able to show you more.

Here it begins, the Melbourne to Sydney drive along coast:

We were travelling with a campervan, you can see our van here. This is Hyams Beach in southern New South Wales.

What Was It Like?

What is the Pacific Coast from Melbourne to Sydney like? Sandy beaches and green hills, pretty seaside towns, national parks, bushland and forests. And kangaroos bouncing on the roadside!

On our journey we passed vast rural areas of Victoria and southern New South Wales. There were dry plains and green countryside, and countless beaches. Australia really has beaches, and so many of them that it won’t get too crowded at any time. Just choose your beach.

The Melbourne to Sydney drive along the coast makes 1400 kilometres (1341 km on my route map) without side trips. But you have to add som hundred km since you won’t just keep on the main roads.

To see more we often took the smaller country roads. Since we wanted to discover small villages and hidden beaches.

Melbourne to Sydney Drive along Coast: the Map

The map shows ourMelbourne to Sydney itinerary. To see the details, zoom in the map as much as you like.

Renting a Campervan

We were thinking about whether we should rent a car and book hotels for each night, or if a campervan would provide us more flexibility.

In a campervan you have all you need all the time and in its right place. And you don’t have to pack and unpack each night. A campervan also gives you more freedom to go and sleep where you like and eat when you are hungry. Something that is really valuable in vast rural areas like Australia.

So we decided to take a campervan, this one:

Renting a campervan in Australia is super easy. Unlike in Europe campervans are a common way of travel in Australia.

There are good websites where you can compare them and book. And it’s good to choose and pay for the camper before leaving home and know your trip is fully organized.

Notice that campervan rental offices are located at the airports which sounds like a trouble. But it’s perfect since driving a big van on the left hand side is hard enough, you don’t need to add to that driving in big cities on your first rental day.

A Home on the Road

We took a bigger campervan that has everything you need, a kitchen with gas stove, fridge, microwave, and of course a toaster to ensure easy breakfasts. The campervan also had a bathroom and sofas that you can convert to beds.

Now we had s a perfect mobile home for our Melbourne to Sydney coastal drive. And our campervan was both bigger and provided a more amenities than our boat back home that we often use for overnight trips.

Easy to drive says the driver, the passenger instead is scared, sometimes. But everything has gone well so far, and we enjoy this so much!

Melbourne to Sydney Drive along Coast

Since the Melbourne to Sydney drive is long and contains so much I split the route in parts and made separate posts on the different sections.

In Part One we set off from Melbourne and drive to Wilsons Promontory in the absolute south of Australia. Part two goes across the New South Wales border to the small town of Merimbula and Part Three finishes the trip as we will reach Sydney.

1. Through Victoria: Melbourne to Wilsons Promontory

The Melbourne to Sydney drive along the coast first takes you to Wilsons Promontory National Park at the southern edge of continental Australia. The national park is set on a peninsula that offers walkers and nature lovers amazing scenery.

On the way to Wilsons Promontory we turned to the Bunurong Coastal Drive and had a look at ancient fossils and rock formations on the beach. And if you have time there are too interesting side trip options, Yarra Valley and Phillip Island.

2. South East Coast of Victoria: Wilsons Promontory to Merimbula

From Wilsons Promontory the coastal drive continues to Ninety Mile Beach that is as long as its name says. You will also visit the Gippsland inland lakes.

This is rural Victoria where distances between villages (and gas stations) are long and bridges narrow. Southern Victoria is a real kangaroo area but despite warnings we failed to spot any koalas on the roadside.

And there is the small coastal village of Mallacoota that has an isolated beach with red rock formations nearby and a koala rainforest path.

3. New South Wales South Coast: Merimbula to Sydney

The remaining 500 kilometres of the Melbourne to Sydney drive follow the coast of New South Wales. The main road winds between green hills and turquoise ocean waters but we used numbered tourist routes for side trips.

In New South Wales we stopped at Bermagui, Tilba Tilba, Jervis Bay, Kangaroo Valley and Kiama.

Hi Annie, 5 days is ok, you just have to drive longer distances per day than we did. And think about that the first and last days are shorter when you pick up and return the camper at certain times. So I would begin with planning the first and last days first and then see if you e.g. want to skip the southernmost part of Victoria to make the drive shorter. Have a great trip!